We recently visited the Leshan Buddha statue, the largest Buddha in the world. It was built 1,300 years ago, begun in the year 713 and completed in 803. It’s 233 feet high. It’s surrounded by Buddhist and Daoist shrines, temples, and cave drawings.

An image in a nearby cave. Notice the tri-grams on the monks robe.

BaGua

This past week our good friend Jon visited us from New York City. We had a blast while he was here, showing him and his friend Mark all around Chengdu. We went to the Sichuan Opera. We also took two trips out of town. The first, to see the pandas, is recorded below. The second, to see the Big Buddha at La Shan, will be documented soon. In the meantime, this photo of Jon observing a sign on the way up the hill to see the Buddha, is indicative of several we encountered along the way. More, even funnier signs, have been posted on the Signs page, listed in the column to the right. Enjoy!

An interesting aspect of Chengdu are the various Buddhist and Taoist sites. One is a monastery, apparently functioning, dedicated to Manjusri, the embodiment of Wisdom, known in China as Wenshu.

Founded during the Sui Dynasty and built between 605 and 617, and initially known as Xin Xiang Temple, it was destroyed by war during the latter stages of the Ming Dynasty (1338 – 1644). It was rebuilt after this, and survived the Cultural Revolution largely intact as well.

It seems most things Chinese which predate the Revolution are now preserved in a kind of theme park setting. Surrounding the temple are small shops selling incense, beads, candles and the like. Nearby is a modern, “ancient” Chinese village, with shops selling expensive artwork, crafts, traditional food, etc. While this area has a kind of Epcot Center feel to it, the Temple itself is weighted with history.

The view from Tianfu Square, downtown Chengdu. The visible haze is a combination of water vapor – being situated in a valley the air is very stagnant and we rarely see the sun – and pollution.

The ubiquitous Chairman, watching over the flowering of full blown free market capitalism. Tianfu Square, Chengdu.

An apparently halted construction project, as seen beyond the outdoor sports complex, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu.

Inside a garden at Renmin Park (The People’s Park), central Chengdu.

Inside a little shelter, Renmin Park, central Chengdu.

Note: To see more photos, simply click on any photo and you should be taken to my Flickr account (Chengdu16) where additional photos are posted. It’s a very time consuming process to post photos on-line with our internet connection here in China. Add to that the fact that we can’t actually see any of the photos we post. I hope you enjoy seeing a little of China as we see it through our lens. We’ll keep posting photos as we’re able.